During difficult times, it’s easy to lose sight of anything other than pure survival.  What many companies did was to simply employ more staff to fill the gaps of the previously retrenched, but to thrive in the current economical state you can’t just shove numbers into an organisation, you need quality employees and the managers need to develop these employees to their full potential.

Jules’ new article in the Star Workplace speaks about how to use your strengths within a company to get the most out of your employees.

Having one star employee will be more valuable than having three mediocre ones.

Check it out here.

I hope you all have seen that some of our special Avo-pips have been featured in the Star Workplace today.

The section entitled Moving Up In The World highlights employees that are either newly recruited or appointed, today’s paper shows off Rachel, Liezel, Vanessa, TP and Susan.

Well done to you all!  

P.S… I hope you like your pics.

…or in this case, 250 people at a time!

I am delighted to be able to announce that, at this very minute, our Footprint team has 10 ‘Money fo’ Sho’ ‘ sessions running across Gauteng!  Even as we speak, almost 250 people are engaging in very important financial literacy conversations that will empower them to make critical personal financial decisions for many years to come!  By Friday, we will have trained just under 500 people, and hopefully have tested all our processes, given our trainers some live practice, and also fed 500 people.

This is one of our pilot days to give each of the trainers we engaged to help us run training sessions as part of the FEF project we are rolling out, a chance to practice, be mentored and coached, and build the confidence they need to go out there and bring the message to the people!  By the time we’re done, in about April next year, we will have trained over 10 000 people!!!

Part of the empowerment plan is to encourage grass roots entrepreneurs to supply us with catering for the training days, train the actual training programme, and get involved in sourcing learners to fill the training sessions.  Today, the Boikamosa Boys excelled in their learner sourcing project - we had crowds of people lining up to be trained (even turning some away, as we can only cater for 25 people per classroom: will revisit there again tomorrow).  Lele Direko, our grassroots caterer, has been bustling all over Soweto ensuring that everyone is well fed.

I am so proud of the Avo and Footprint team that has stood together to make the empowerment dream a reality - all of you have worked your beanies off to get to this point.  Take a bow.  You are all just awesome!!!

I’m so delighted to be able to be the one to blog the welcome to little Sadie-Lee Barry!  Dad Clint is one of our longest-serving Avos, and Mom Carla has been a key person in the Avo family for many years. 

I’m trying to decide whether I feel like a doting grannie, or indulgent auntie…..?  But most of all, I’m just thrilled to congratulate the Barry family on their new baby!

Many blessings and love to you all!

What a great week it has been for articles and exposure?  Besides Rachel’s article in the Star Workplace, and interview with Vanessa and Liezel appeared in the Verve on the 29th of September. 

It’s about a fascinating new concept in South Africa about high-level job-sharing.  Abroad, the job-share arrangement is sought mostly by working mothers, adults caring for the elderly and people wanting to keep up an income stream while starting up their own business; and mostly secretarial, clerical and production.  In our case, however, it is a high-level management role… And that brings on a list of new challenges and benefits.

To read about these and how we are managing to pull it off check out the article here.

Getting the people ’stuff’ is vital in any business or organisation.

Leaders of an organisation, have to strategically position themselves to influence through persuasive conversation. They need to intrinsically be able to identify the strengths of others and unleash those strengths.

They need to know how to have the tough conversations, in which they are able to discipline where necessary and redirect focus to critical delivery.

Check out Rachel’s article here.